Older students take zigzag path to college graduation

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

About 16 years ago, after all five of her kids had earned college degrees, Kay Mullally decided that one more diploma was needed around the house: her own.

What followed was an academic odyssey, as Mullally pocketed credit after credit at Rollins College's evening program for her degree in English.

"My husband was a Marine officer. Marine officers' wives did not go to school, and they did not work. Things were different. If you didn't go to college when you were 18, that was it, you did not go," said Mullally, of Winter Park. In her 50s, she entered a college classroom for the first time. And today, she will finally graduate — at age 74.

Scattered among the throngs of 20-somethings at college graduations this weekend in Central Florida will be older students who have traveled zigzag paths to a college education. They've been seeking personal enrichment, taking care of unfinished business or trying to start a whole new life.

More and more students who didn't bolt out of high school into their freshman year at college are showing up on campuses. In 2009, the University of Central Florida recognized their presence with what it called the Non-Traditional Knights Project. The initiative provides information about everyday campus life to students who are traditionally separated from it because of their age or family obligations. From 2006 to 2010, the number of students over 25 at the rapidly growing UCF rose from about 10,500 to 13,100.

From the start, application essays often distinguish older students. They've been places, paid bills, gotten divorced, lost loved ones, raised children and gained the kind of wisdom that comes with age.

"They are very moving essays," said Evelyn Schwalb, who works at Stetson University with nontraditional students, many of whom are over 25. "They are often mavericks. They've crafted their own paths."

Stetson has about 100 nontraditional students at any given time. One of them, Elizabeth Scovil, 46, will receive her bachelor's degree today after leaving college in 1998 to home-school one of her four sons, Shawn, who had been diagnosed with dyslexia. Now a double-major in political science and American studies, Scovil of Apopka said she felt "the calling" of family back then and put her degree on hold.

The years passed, and Shawn enrolled at Stetson. As his senior year approached, Scovil realized she was only a few credits shy of her own degree. She asked him whether he would mind if she returned, and she timed it so they could graduate together. Her voice breaks when she remembers his answer.

"He said, 'Mom, you gave it up for me. I'd be honored to have you beside me.' "

At today's Valencia Community College commencement, 37-year-old Rob Stio will receive an associate's degree after spending much of his young adulthood in the entertainment business. Right out of high school in Tampa, he found work at Disney. Then, over the next 15 years, he bounced between Los Angeles and New York City, working a variety of entertainment gigs and eventually getting engaged.

When his relationship and career hit the wall at the same time, he returned to Central Florida and sought direction by enrolling at Valencia. There he explored a latent interest in foreign relations. Now he wants to enter the diplomatic service. Applications are in at Georgetown, Brown, Williams, Amherst and Rollins.

He admits that he got around to college late, but he doesn't regret the time he spent in his previous life.

"I got into a lot of interesting things happening along the way. I have a lot of street experience and a lot of job experience," Stio said.

The late-to-arrive students usually grab school by the horns once they start. Skipping classes seems self-defeating to those who waited for the opportunity. And in some cases, they give professors a chance to witness the pleasure of education for its own sake.

At Rollins, which has almost 200 students who are 40 or older, Mullally gained a reputation as a perennial scholar. Former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins had heard about her before she stepped into his class one semester.

"Kay is someone who just loved being in school. I really identified with her because I loved being in school," said Collins, who's 70. "Unfortunately, I got a Ph.D. and then they threw me out. If the world were configured differently, I'd be on the other side of the classroom learning."